Project Background: 

Young Mother’s Skills and Empowerment Project is community based non- Governmental and non profit making project. Young Mother’s Skills and Empowerment Project is a direct initiative for Weismann Expeditions Foundation (WEFO) a community nonprofit making organization with COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION REGISTRATION NUMBER 1886.

WEFO  is one of the organizations established to address psychosocial and economic problems in the local communities and integrate a broader  bottom-up approach to enhance the community involvement  in different development programs, conservation campaigns of natural resources, preservation of traditional culture, build social income generating projects  for long term collective benefits and general uplift of standards of living.

Project Description

Young Mother’s Skills and Empowerment Project seeks to run for a life changing society by giving young mothers life skills training and an opportunity to start up business and meet their basic needs. Most young mothers in Uganda do not receive the opportunity to return to school after child birth to achieve their earlier intended dreams and aspirations. Most often these vulnerable young mothers are rejected by their biological parents, families and partners and left to struggle on their own for a living to bring up and provide the required needs to their children. Some girls are impregnated by  irrational old men and deny responsibility and others through forced sex that are thus left in  total despair and the only major breadwinners for their survival.

Weismann Expeditions Foundation (WEFO)  through Young Mother’s Skills and Empowerment Project will help to address the social, economic and emotional challenges faced by these young  mothers; including identifying their strengths and goals, discussing the importance of completing career and life skills, and identifying a career path that will maximize their ability to function independently as a young parent. The project is particularly targeting communities in which no training or such support opportunities have previously existed. The goal is to motivate these young mothers and turn them into role models where over 200 young mothers will be working either independently or in newly created job avenues.  Each member will be procured a tailoring or knitting machine to create a positive social change and influence lives of young mothers in the communities they live in and the children under their direct care.

PROBLEM STATEMENT
Problem Statement:

Currently, in Uganda, Adolescents constitute the highest demographic segment, about 34.8% of  the total population. Accordingly, statistics provided by Ministry of Health (MOH) indicate that about 25% of these girls aged between 15 and 19 are either pregnant or already mothers. In other areas, this number even increases to 30% and some girls start to get pregnant as early as 13 years of age and continue to bearing children until their mid 40’s ranking Uganda with the highest rate of teenage pregnancies in Sub-Saharan Africa.

This according to the Uganda Bureau of statistics (UBoS) has a distinctive link to the prevailing poverty in most homes especially in the rural areas as cases from such families reached 41% compared to adolescents from wealthier families which stands at 17%. Similarly, early initiation to sex, limited access to reproductive health information, and fear amongst parents to talk sex related issues to their children were among the leading causes of this vice resulting into unintended pregnancies and disappointments and denial from partners, family members and more often parents refuse to bear the burden and chase them away from home.

These young girls especially first time mothers face a lot of challenges as they transit into motherhood and meet new demands yet ideologically themselves would still need to be cared for and supported by their parents.  They thus Feel a lonely and desperate and make phrases like ‘if I knew what I know now “which directly impacts on the inborn babies’ health, weight and growth. Babies born to young mothers face substantially higher risk of dying, adverse pregnancy outcomes than those born to women of older age. These young and vulnerable mothers and children live in hard conditions with little or no means of survival for their children and thus need extra guidance, instructions, and support both material, physiological and financial and of any other kind. Such consequences can be addressed through interventions targeting young mothers. Weismann Expeditions Foundation WEFO) seeks to help and empower such people with practical skills to help them earn a living and be able to provide for their families and attain sustainable lives.

PROJECT MISSION & VISION
Project Mission:

To train and empower a set of economically capable and skilled young mothers for self reliance.

Project objectives: 

Overall Objective:

To mobilize and train young mothers with hands on Skills and help them to establish businesses to break the York of vulnerability to obtain desirable lives

PROJECT OBJECTIVES
Project Objectives
  • To help young mothers cope with the consequences of early parenthood and restoring hope.
  • To create businesses and reduce on their vulnerability and dependency
  • To mobilize and impart employable life changing skills in young girls.
  • To help children brought up under such conditions and turn them in responsible citizens
  • To provide a platform through which such young girls can express their concerns.
  • To provide counseling and guidance services and uniting them with their families.
TARGETED BENEFICIARIES
Targeted beneficiaries.

Whereas most societies in Uganda are affected by the psychosocial and economic burdens of the abandoned young mothers and their children, Kasese district has carefully been chosen to set as an example to measure the success and impact of the project to the community.

The project site was carefully selected taking into account regional variations, magnitude of the problem, proximity and ease with which to monitor and supervise the Project.

The people targeted are 200 young mothers for a period of 4 years and all from within the community in line of our areas of operation and in some other communities surrounding Rwenzori Mountains National Park basing on their family backgrounds. At the beginning, 50 young mothers will be selected and hosted to our training centres for 6 months where the organization is entitled to meet all the training facilities, food and accommodation of the mother. After the training, each mother shall be given either a sawing or a knitting machine to set up their own businesses

The selected mothers shall be monitored and supervised by members of Weismann Expeditions Foundation (WEFO) who have the dream and heart of the project.